Justice Department investigating mental health system

JACKSON — The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Mississippi’s mental health system is discriminating against disabled persons by funding large psychiatric institutions at the expense of community-based care.

The state Department of Mental Health said Mississippi has significantly improved care for disabled patients since the ruling, despite a lack of funds. Critics, however, said state policymakers have resisted shifting funds from hospitals to community care.

The state never carried out a 2001 plan to implement a Supreme Court ruling that barred states from over-reliance on institutions.

The Justice Department now is looking into whether state-operated residential facilities are providing the “most integrated settings possible” to people with mental illness or intellectual disabilities, according to a letter sent by the Justice Department to Gov. Haley Barbour Feb. 25.

“If we find systemic violations, we will work with you to develop proper policies and practices prior to initiating any legal action,” Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez wrote in the letter to Barbour.

Jan Schaefer, a spokeswoman for Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, said the concerns stem from a 1999 Supreme Court ruling called the Olmstead decision. The court held it is discriminatory to institutionalize a disabled person who can live in the community with support.

DMH spokeswoman Wendy Bailey said the state follows the law in providing care, despite the Legislature’s failure to provide funds to implement the 2001 Mississippi Access to Care plan. The plan was developed by state officials with citizen input after the Olmstead ruling.

The Justice Department has launched similar investigations into other states’ mental health systems.

Source: The Associated Press